First Week Learning Python Programming At Hackbright Academy

“Push yourself, don’t forget to eat, realign your commitments, lean on your classmates for support, Git it now, hackathons are your friends, and networking is not as cheesy as it sounds.”

By Margaret Morris (Student, Hackbright Academy)

At Hackbright Academy, the 10-week intensive software development program for women, Christian and Charles led Friday morning of our first week of class with insights into different types of tech companies and their cultures, for those new to the field.

A few of our classmates voiced their background fears about going into the male-dominated industry and we gave each other confidence-building advice, as well as advice on knowing what types of toxic company cultures may or may not be for them.

Hackbright Academy students have mentors giving daily 30-minute talks followed by Q&As. Being in tech most of my career (even though in a non-dev capacity), it’s refreshing to have a place where any question is given an answer (or a path to an answer), no questions are considered stupid, and though the pace is fast, each woman will take time to stop and help another when needed.

About the guest blogger: Margaret Morris is currently studying Python development as a student at Hackbright Academy. She is a co-founder and VP of Product at CritSend, an SMTP relay and email analytics service. She spends her free time searching for an apartment in the Mission District. Follow her on Twitter at @margaretblue.